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According to Spanish news outlet El Nacional, a major update has come to light on Liverpool and their transfer plans involving Real Madrid star Federico Valverde.

The Lowdown: Klopp eyeing midfield additions…

As reported, the Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp have seemingly set their sights on improving the club’s midfield options as they become linked with a host of names.

The likes of Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Denis Zakaria have been linked in the central midfield position whereas Villarreal winger Arnaut Danjuma is also thought to be on the agenda.

However, in what is a very interesting claim, El Nacional say FSG and Klopp now have a Galacticos star on their radar.

The Latest: Liverpool plotting Valverde bid…

According to their information, Liverpool have started ‘preparing an offensive’ for the 23-year-old and are ‘willing’ to table a huge €80 million (£66.6m) offer for his services.

As well as this, it is believed FSG will ‘insist’ on signing Valverde and ‘squeeze’ to reach an agreement with Real over the player – meaning they will push for his signing.

The Verdict: Major claim…

Scoring Real’s winner in their 3-2 El Clasico win over Barcelona on Wednesday, it’s clear the Uruguay international is playing his part under Carlo Ancelotti.

Starting ten La Liga matches and making six appearances off the bench (WhoScored), Valverde features regularly in a star-studded side and his past plaudits indicate why Klopp and the club are willing to pay.

Casemiro claimed he would become ‘one of the best’ in the world in his position with the €160,192-per-week (£133,000) man clearly possessing plenty of ability.

However, given how short Liverpool are in the forward positions with both Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at AFCON, the club could be better placed prioritising more shrewd attacking options instead.

In other news: £210,000-per-week star now open to joining Liverpool as FSG plot eight-figure bid, find out more here.

Wolves manager Bruno Lage has revealed the latest in his side’s plans for the January transfer window, with Premier League clubs having just nine days left to do business.

What’s the story?

As reported by The Athletic, Lage has confirmed that Wolves’ priority position to strengthen is the defence but admitted that it will be difficult to sign a centre-back, saying: “We have that idea [to buy a defender] but the market is very hard in January.

“That’s why we prepare Fernando Marcal and Leander Dendoncker to play there and we bring Dion [Sanderson] and Toti [Gomes] back. Hopefully Saiss back in a couple of weeks, for now, we’re going to stay like that.

“You never know. If we have a chance to bring any player who can fit our team, not just for this season but for the future, it’s good for us. If not, I won’t say to Jeff [Shi, the chairman] or Scott [Sellars, the technical director] to bring me a player just for four months.”

The Old Gold have already added promising Portuguese winger Chiquinho to their ranks whilst also recalling defenders Toti Gomes (Grasshoppers) and Dion Sanderson (Birmingham City) from loan spells.

However, despite Gomes and Sanderson returning, Wolves still find themselves relatively light at the back, with Willy Boly injured and Romain Saiss on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Morocco.

Wolves fans will be seething

With Lage is adamant that Wolves play with a back-three, the Molineux faithful will be desperate to see more quality added to their team’s defensive ranks. The Old Gold have prided themselves on their defence since the Portuguese manager took charge, with only Manchester City conceding fewer than Wolves’ 16 goals so far in the Premier League this season.

The preferred trio of Saiss, Conor Coady and Max Kilman have been excellent together, whilst goalkeeper José Sá has been a revelation. However, this combination isn’t necessarily sustainable, as shown with Saiss’ departure for international duty.

Should one of those three be absent, Wolves are suddenly left with a lack of high-quality, reliable options. They were lucky that Toti Gomes handled his Premier League debut against Southampton well, given that the 23-year-old had been playing in the Swiss Super League beforehand.

Moreover, Sanderson’s only experience of first-team football is a season in League One with Sunderland and half a campaign in the Championship with Birmingham. It would therefore be a risk to throw the 22-year-old in at the deep end immediately.

Adding high-quality personnel at the back should ease Wolves fans’ nerves and ensure that, if another of the favoured three defenders is sidelined, Lage won’t have a dilemma and will confidently call upon the designated back-up.

If that doesn’t happen, though, the Molineux faithful may well be seething over the failure to add some much-needed alternatives at centre-back this month.

In other news: Lage offers update on the future of 25-y/o gem, Wolves fans will be delighted

West Ham United remain in talks regarding a deal to bring Hugo Ekitike to the London Stadium prior to transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Dharmesh Sheth, with the Sky Sports journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that David Moyes’ side are in continued negotiations with Stade Reims regarding a deal for the centre-forward.

Previous reports revealed that Newcastle United are also interested in a move for the 19-year-old this month, however, after the Magpies submitted an offer totalling €35m (£29m) for the France U21 international – which is believed to have included a bonus for winning the Champions League – the Reims president, Jean-Pierre Caillot, stated that the French side would require a more concrete offer for him to accept a bid.

Speaking about the interest in Ekitike, Caillot said: “[Newcastle] offered us €35m (£29m) in total but with many bonuses, some of which were almost impossible to achieve – like, for example, winning the Champions League. We want €30m (£25m) fixed plus €10m (£8.5m) in realisable bonuses.”

Finally what West Ham need

With West Ham having been operating with Michail Antonio as their only option at centre-forward since the sale of Sebastien Haller a year ago this month, the addition of a second striker to Moyes’ first-team squad has been something of a priority for the 58-year-old manager this January.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-west-ham-news” title=”Check out the latest West Ham News”]

However, with around 36 hours remaining of the winter market, the Hammers are yet to welcome any fresh faces to the London Stadium this month, be that up front or elsewhere.

As such, considering the club’s desperate need for attacking reinforcements, in addition to the abundance of potential Ekitike is quite clearly in possession of, it would appear an extremely wise move for the Irons to launch a late offer for the 19-year-old sensation.

Indeed, over his 18 Ligue 1 appearances so far this season, the £5.4m-rated striker has been in remarkable form for Reims, having already bagged eight goals, provided three assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player who has been compared to Kylian Mbappe average an impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.88, ranking him as his club’s 11th-best player in the top flight of French football.

So, with an extremely limited amount of time remaining in the January transfer window, Moyes and the West Ham board simply must stump up the £33.5m required to get a deal over the line for Ekitike prior to Monday’s deadline – as the 19-year-old would appear to be exactly what the Hammers need.

In other news: “Talks will continue..”: ExWHUemployee drops teasing update on late deal, GSB must act

A big update has emerged on Rangers and their efforts to bolster Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad on the final day of the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Gers are on the verge of completing a swoop to land a major deadline day signing.

He Tweeted: “Rangers are set to sign Aaron Ramsey on loan from Juventus, deal finally in place. Final details to be completed on player side with his agent but it’s almost done. #Rangers Buy option for Rangers will be included, as reported earlier.”

Champions League football incoming

The signing of Ramsey is a huge move for Rangers and he could come in and provide the level of quality they need to pip their arch-rivals Celtic to the Premiership title.

Winning the league this season guarantees entry into the group stages of the Champions League next season, rather than needing to go through the qualifying rounds and potentially ending up in the Europa League. This means that clinching the trophy this term would result in a major payday of at least £30m from playing in Europe’s premier competition.

Ramsey is an experienced, proven, player at the top level of football who could make a major impact for Gio van Bronckhorst in the second half of the campaign.

He has produced six goals and six assists in 70 games for Juventus, having managed an impressive 65 goals and 65 assists in 371 matches for Arsenal earlier in his career, whilst also scoring 20 in 71 caps for Wales.

This shows that he has the ability, and consistency, to be a big threat at the top end of the pitch with his late runs from midfield to get on the end of chances whilst also creating them for his teammates. He also has plenty of experience playing in the Europa League and Champions League, which could give the side a lift when they return to European action later this season.

Domestically, though, his goals and assists could help the Gers to get over the line and secure the Premiership title, as he has been able to provide quality throughout his career. This means that his arrival could seal the trophy and a whopping £30m (at least) payday for Ross Wilson and the club to work with heading into the 2022/23 campaign, which is why this could be a phenomenal signing.

AND in other news,  “Is in Glasgow…”: Jordan Campbell drops Rangers transfer update that’ll excite fans…

As per reliable reporter James Olley of ESPN, Tottenham Hotspur also failed to sign another target near the end of the January transfer window as news emerges on Championship starlet Djed Spence.

The Lowdown: Tottenham join Spence race…

The Lilywhites and transfer chief Fabio Paratici were known admirers of the Middlesbrough gem who is currently shining on loan at Nottingham Forest.

Sky Sports first revealed that Spurs had joined the January transfer race to sign him permanently and then loan him back to Forest for the remainder of 2021/2022.

The likes of Arsenal and Leeds were also in the hunt to sign Spence last month but Olley, writing on Twitter, claims Spurs actually made multiple moves.

The Latest: Tottenham fall short in multiple bids…

According to the ESPN reporter, Spurs and Paratici ‘fell short’ with ‘two offers rejected’ for Boro’s promising talent.

He also claims the bids were just ‘last week’ near the end of the window’s closure.

“Exclusive: #thfc have had two offers rejected for Middlesbrough’s Djed Spence, currently on loan at Forest,” he explained.

“Bids were last week & fell short of Boro’s £15m valuation.”

He added: “Spence will stay put & move to new club in summer.”

The Verdict: Big miss…

The electric right-wing-back could have certainly boosted manager Antonio Conte’s options for next season and we urge Spurs to go back in with a summer attempt.

Called a ‘massive player’ for Forest this season by Sky pundit Jobi McAnuff, the homegrown ace could also solve Tottenham’s homegrown quota issue and finally provide Conte with a quality right-sided defender.

The Italian missed out on Adama Traore, whom he wanted to convert into a RWB, but judging by Spence’s plaudits, the 21-year-old could be worth waiting for.

In other news: Spurs also made last gasp attempt to sign £50m star on deadline day, according to The Telegraph…find out more here.

Steve Hitchen would be a ‘very shrewd’ addition for Everton, Alex McLeish has told Football Insider. 

The lowdown

The publication reported from Goodison sources on Thursday that Everton had offered the director of football position to Hitchen after Farhad Moshiri gave his blessing.

All that remains is to agree the terms of Hitchen’s contract, and then the appointment will be ‘rubberstamped’.

The 45-year-old stepped down from his post at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, having been ‘marginalised’ following the arrival of Fabio Paratici as managing director of football (via The Guardian).

And Everton are looking to replace Marcel Brands, who departed the club in December.

The latest

McLeish backed the prospective appointment of Hitchen, whose ‘experience’ of working in English football will be particularly valuable.

He thinks new manager Frank Lampard will be grateful to have someone to do the ‘hard hours’ for him when it comes to recruitment.

“On paper, it’s all good,” the former Rangers and Scotland manager said. “Steve’s got a good name.

“It’s not as if they’re bringing in a young guy who doesn’t know the elements of the Premier League. Steve has good experience.

“Hitchen could be a very shrewd signing in the backroom team. Let’s face it, managers don’t get out and about.

“People used to be able to phone a manager and say: ‘Have you seen this player playing there?’ and the manager would say: ‘I’ll go and see him.’

“These guys do all that, they do those hard hours for you. Their knowledge and analytic methods of the modern world are much more prevalent these days.”

The verdict

Hitchen has a fairly good track record both in terms of his eye of talent and his ability to negotiate deals.

At Liverpool, he was the driving force behind the signing of Luis Suarez, who won the Premier League Golden Boot after a 31-goal season in 2013/14, while at Spurs he advocated a deal for Lucas Moura, whose 38 goals include a hat-trick in a Champions League semifinal.

When Mauricio Pochettino wanted Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso in the final summer before his departure, he delivered.

You can see, then, why both Moshiri and Lampard might be keen to work with him.

Everton’s recruitment has been ‘so bad’, according to Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge. Can Hitchen be the man to change that?

In other news, Everton are targeting this Championship ace.

Newcastle have been hit by a hammer blow as an update on Javier Manquillo’s injury situation has been dropped…

What’s the latest?

According to The Chronicle, the Spaniard is unlikely to be fit enough to play against West Ham in the Premier League this weekend.

The report claims that he has suffered ligament damage in his ankle and is set to be absent on Saturday, following on from Kieran Trippier’s broken foot that will see him miss a number of weeks.

Newcastle will be fuming

Eddie Howe will surely be left fuming by this news as it means that he has lost his two first-choice right-backs in the same week.

Trippier’s knock was a gigantic blow for the Magpies as he has been sublime since making his move to the club from Atletico Madrid in January. Newcastle are unbeaten in his four Premier League appearances and he has averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.87. He has produced two goals and managed 24 tackles and interceptions in that time, showing that he has had a big impact at both ends of the pitch.

Therefore, Howe was already rocked by one major issue and now he has to deal with another setback because of Manquillo’s apparent unavailability. The Spanish defender has averaged a score of 6.61 in the top-flight, which places him seventh in the squad overall and shows that he is nowhere near the standard of the English international.

However, there is another drop-off between him and the player who could now be forced to play at right-back against the Hammers – Emil Krafth. The Sweden international has averaged a dismal WhoScored rating of 6.33 for the Magpies, proving that he has been nowhere near good enough for Steve Bruce or Howe.

He is ranked as the 24th player in the squad in terms of WhoScored ratings, which is 17 places lower than Manquillo. Whereas, Trippier is only six places above the ex-Liverpool full-back and this suggests that this injury update is a hammer blow for Howe as he could be left with little option but to select Krafth, who is far worse than his other two right-backs.

The dud’s performances this season suggest that he will be a liability against West Ham if he is in the starting XI on Saturday and this is what will leave Howe fuming ahead of the match. He will surely be hoping that Manquillo is able to return to training next week and be available for their clash with Brentford.

AND in other news, £9.8m wasted: “Out of his depth” Newcastle dud has been taking liberties for 131 weeks…

Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin has expressed his surprise at the notion that January signing Daizen Maeda has started his Parkhead career ‘poorly’.

The lowdown

The Hoops signed the Japanese forward from Yokohama F Marinos on an initial loan last month, and in the summer, the move will be made permanent for a fee of £1.38m.

The 24-year-old has made nine appearances so far for the club, starting four Premiership games and both legs of the Europa Conference League play-off tie against Bodo/Glimt.

Maeda has netted four goals for the Hoops up to this point, including one on his debut against Hibernian.

The latest

On The Athletic’s matchday forum, a supporter said that their problem with Maeda was his ‘woeful’ first touch, arguing that the 24-year-old produced a ‘particularly poor’ performance against Dundee last Sunday.

Devlin mounted a strong defence of Maeda in response, suggesting that his ‘outstanding’ work off the ball was underappreciated.

The journalist replied: “Game of opinions and all that, but I think we must be watching a different sport! Thought he was decent on Sunday with a directness that had been badly missing from Celtic’s wingers in the games previously, especially how well he does in creating the second goal.

“His control isn’t great but neither is Giakoumakis or Abada’s, really, but they like Maeda have other good qualities. His linkup play has been good enough while off the ball he’s outstanding, both in his pressing and his movement to create chances for himself and teammates.

“I can’t wrap my head around the theory I’ve seen online that he’s started his Celtic career poorly – but as I say, what makes these discussions interesting is how we all think differently about football and Celtic!”

The verdict

Maeda’s goal return for Celtic so far is solid, but what do the rest of his performance numbers say?

He has missed three big chances, namely situations where he should reasonably have been expected to score (via SofaScore). He hasn’t offered much from a creative standpoint either, supplying only 0.2 key passes per 90 minutes, and he’s only winning 39% of his duels.

As for his control, he is averaging two unsuccessful first touches per 90 minutes (via WhoScored).

There is some room for improvement, but perhaps he’s almost suffering from the form of fellow J1 League arrivals Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate, both of whom have impressed so much in the early knockings at Celtic that they’re already being touted as future Premier League players.

More patience may be required with Maeda.

In other news, read this injury expert’s latest claim on Christopher Jullien

Crystal Palace may decide to sell Jean-Philippe Mateta during the summer transfer window despite only signing him in January, according to The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam.

The lowdown

Palace initially signed Mateta on an 18-month loan deal from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in January 2021 and agreed to make the deal permanent earlier this year.

The loan had included a purchase option of €15m (£12.4m), but Mainz showed a willingness to accept a reduced fee. The Frenchman penned a four-and-a-half-year contract worth £53,400 per week.

Having only started one game this season before Boxing Day, Mateta is now enjoying a run of five starts in the last 11 Premier League matches (via Transfermarkt). He has also scored in two of his last three league games, finding the net in victories over Wolves and Watford.

The latest

Woosnam was asked by a Palace supporter in the comments of an article for The Athletic whether he had heard ‘whispers’ about the Eagles cashing in on Mateta.

The journalist duly replied: “It’s a possibility David. I think the signing of him permanently was an opportunistic one. They managed to negotiate a lower price than previously agreed, he’s in good form, if he’s not the answer when they review in the summer they can sell him, likely for a profit given his upturn in form, and bring someone in who they see as more suitable. However, it may be that they determine he’s worth keeping.”

The verdict

If Mateta is moved on by Palace, it could be good news for Odsonne Edouard – Carlton Palmer said last week that the summer signing from Celtic ‘will be disappointed’ by his recent lack of game-time at Selhurst Park.

While Mateta has moved up the pecking order under Vieira, his compatriot has played just one minute of football over the course of the last four league matches, and his job may now be to convince Vieira to show more faith in him rather than replacing Mateta with an expensive new recruit, if the latter does indeed exit the south London club.

In other news, could it be one Frenchman out, one Frenchman in at Selhurst Park?

Everton boss Frank Lampard has never been a stranger when it comes to handing young players first-team opportunities and he is now keen on luring another prospect to Goodison Park from the Championship.

Birmingham City are somewhat developing a habit of bringing through some of the most exciting prospects not just in England but in Europe, with plenty of their youth team stars desperate to follow in the footsteps of Borussia Dortmund and England star Jude Bellingham.

However, one youngster who has already made 17 appearances in the first team for the Blues, despite just being 17-years-old, is already being linked with a move away to a number of clubs – with Frank Lampard’s Everton being keen according to Football League World.

The transfer target in question is teen sensation Jordan James, who scored his first senior goal just under two weeks ago, away at Stoke City in the Championship.

Blues boss Lee Bowyer knows that due to his rapid development and progress, Premier League clubs will soon be circling – and it appears they have already begun lining up with West Ham, Crystal Palace, Wolves, Brighton all reportedly also interested.

Bowyer said last week: “Jordan James is a 17-year-old kid who’s learning the game. For me, the finish and the area where he’s scored and the composure he has to pass the ball into the corner of the net, these are the things we work on. It’s pleasing for me because he’s listening and improving.

“If he keeps doing what he’s doing and showing the hunger and the desire to improve, then his future is as bright as he wants it to be.

“He’s a tremendous asset. He’s a good player and, if he wasn’t, trust me, he wouldn’t be playing. People are going to be looking at him for sure.”
The midfielder wins on average over 50% of his duels on the ground, as well as completing 73% of his passes and having over one shot a game for a Birmingham team who have struggled massively this season.
He definitely has huge potential and is the type of young player that Lampard loves to give playing time to and develop. While there is plenty of interest from rival clubs, the prospect of working with a manager who was influential in shaping the likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour and Marc Guehi’s careers so far, is surely too good to turn down.
In other news: Sold for £2m, now worth 305% more: Everton had a howler on £16k-p/w “hell of a player”